Press Release: ADV Acquires The Wallflower!

HOUSTON, April 16, 2007 – Last night acclaimed anime director Shinichi “Nabeshin” Watanabe (Excel Saga, Nerima Daikon Brothers) and ADV Films President John Ledford announced that ADV Films had acquired rights to Watanabe’s new series The Wallflower. The announcement was made during a tribute to the director, which was held before a packed house at Houston’s Alamo Drafthouse Cinema. Following the announcement, the first episode of The Wallflower was screened in Japanese with English subtitles.

“We are extremely proud to be presenting Nabeshin’s latest work,” said Ledford. “The Wallflower is a great anime, and fans are going to love it.”

The evening began with a screening of Nerima Daikon Brothers, Watanabe’s musical comedy series. The third and final DVD from that series went on sale April 24th, and the entire English cast and crew was on hand to celebrate, including leads Greg Ayres, Luci Christian, and Chris Patton. Following a showing of episode 11, Nerima Daikon Brothers ADR Director Chris Ayres engaged Watanabe in an on-stage dialogue covering the director’s career, his singular approach to comedy, and his future projects. The Wallflower announcement was made at the conclusion of their interview.

The Wallflower is a comedy based on the best selling shoujo manga series by Tomoko Hayakawa, nine volumes of which have already been published in the US by Del Rey Manga. With its peculiar premise and bizarre plot twists, The Wallflower is perfectly matched to Watanabe’s strengths as a director. Watanabe himself said at the Alamo, “I tried to make it in my own style. In the end I modified it so much it feels very much like my own anime.”

Synopsis: Kyouhei, Yukinojou, Takenaga and Ranmaru are four gorgeous young men who live in a sprawling mansion owned by a woman they call “Auntie.” Auntie tells the boys they may live there for free, but with one catch: they must transform the landlady’s niece Sunako into a proper young lady within three years, or she’ll triple their rent. The boys figure they’re in for smooth sailing, until they discover that Sunako is an introverted, fashion-hopeless, horror-loving movie buff who would rather live like a hermit than undergo a makeover! Our four fabulous guys soon learn they’re in for more than they bargained for as they try to to turn a gore-loving gal into a delicate little flower.

The Wallflower is a 25 episode series that will be released over six DVDs, currently scheduled to launch December 18, 2007.

About ADV Films:

In the 15 years since its inception, ADV Films has become the #1 producer-distributor of Japanese animation (“anime”) outside of Japan and has the largest English-language anime library in the world. With best-selling titles such as Neon Genesis Evangelion, RahXephon, Robotech, Full Metal Panic, Hello Kitty and Azumanga Daioh, ADV Films’ extensive catalog is fueling the popularity of anime around the globe. Always on the forefront, ADV is introducing North America to bold new anime franchises such as Gantz, Elfen Lied, Chrono Crusade, Peacemaker and DNAngel. ADV Films’ library also includes popular live-action science fiction programs such as The Jim Henson Company’s Farscape, the nationally syndicated Gene Roddenberry’s Andromeda and the Saturn Award-nominated Mutant X. In 2005 ADV Films was voted “Best Anime Company” in the SPJA awards, presented at Anime Expo, North America’s largest anime convention. The readers of Anime News Network designated ADV Films “Overall Favorite Anime Company” in both 2004 and 2005.

Parent company, A.D. Vision, Inc., encompasses a multitude of complementary media divisions, spanning publishing, television, licensing and merchandising and continues to expand into new areas. Its Anime Network is America’s first and only television network dedicated to bringing anime and anime-related programming to consumers nationwide via digital cable 24 hours a day. The company has two publishing arms: Newtype USA, the premier anime and manga monthly magazine, and ADV Manga, dedicated to publishing graphic novels. Headquartered in Houston, the company has offices in Europe and Japan. For more information, visit www.advfilms.com.